According to a December report by Demandbase/Ziff Davis, search engine optimization trumped social media as the most popular marketing strategy among B2B companies. The majority (63%) of survey participants reported that seo is a portion of their online marketing mix. The rise in popularity of content marketing has greatly influenced the percentage of inbound marketing (53%). Other marketing strategies like SEM and PPC received a lower importance among B2B companies this month.
A Demandbase study, “Account-Based Marketing in 2013,” outlined the main factors that B2B marketers consider when formulating new content: buyer personas, specific business needs and solutions, industry/company types to target, and thought leadership. This survey discovered that companies are having a hard time understanding their target market. Demandbase found that 1 in 10 participants revealed they do not understand their target market, with 8% saying they can sell to anyone. This disconnect can negatively affect B2B companies as content marketing is increasing in importance.